As the preceding pages have hopefully demonstrated, we have
worked hard over the past year to build a court system that is
modern and innovative. While these objectives are important in
achieving our larger mission of fair and effective justice, a
third goal is also critical: building a court system that the
public understands and respects.

An independent judiciary is the bedrock of a free and fair
society. To remain impartial, judges must stay out of the fray,
apply the law and let their decisions speak for themselves. Our
courts must be independent, yet they must not be perceived as
remote. The strength of the judiciary depends upon public trust
and support, and if the public misinterprets "out of the
fray" as "out of touch," our ability to perform
our constitutional role is weakened. One of our biggest challenges
is thus to balance our independence with the need to build bridges
to the public, so that the citizenry understands the challenges
we face and knows that the work we do warrants their trust and
confidence.

Bridges to the public should go two ways, of course, allowing
the courts not only to provide information about their work but
also to hear citizens' concerns. In 1997, the New York courts
undertook a number of programs to build such bridges throughout
the State.

Judicial Advisory Councils

As part of a four-state initiative sponsored by the National
Center for State Courts, local Judicial Advisory Councils have
been established in four areas in the State: Nassau and Queens
Counties and the Seventh and Eighth Judicial Districts (covering
Cayuga, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne and
Yates Counties and Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chatauqua, Erie, Genesee,
Niagara, Orleans and Wyoming Counties, respectively). Working
with the local Administrative Judge, these Councils focus on a
number of issues of concern to their local communities, such as
improving the conditions of court facilities, jury service and
increasing public understanding of the courts.

Specific projects pursued last year included development of
a "Teen Court" in Monroe County, exploration of ways
to improve media coverage of court issues in the Eighth Judicial
District, work on a Children's Center for the Nassau County District
Court, and educational programs for Queens citizens in such areas
as landlord-tenant and domestic relations law.

Speakers' Bureau and Court Tour Programs

Our Speakers' Bureau arranges for judges and court employees
to address community and religious groups on topics relating to
the courts. Last year, Judge Abraham Gerges made special outreach
efforts on behalf of the Association of Justices of the Supreme
Court to New York City Community Boards and Precinct Community
Councils. Eighteen speaking engagements in two months' time followed.
Through our Court Tours program, over 10,000 students and adults
visited New York City court facilities, escorted by specially
trained court tour officers.

Working with the Schools

Education on law-related topics enriches a school's curriculum
and ensures a new generation of well informed citizens. A recent
survey of all the bar associations in the State revealed that
each year, hundreds of lawyers participate in a broad array of
programs directed at increasing students' understanding of our
legal system, from mock trial and moot court competitions to Òlawyers
in the classroom' sessions and courthouse tours.

These volunteer programs are most effective when accompanied
by a school curriculum that includes teaching about basic concepts
relating to courts and law. In an effort to promote the development
of such a curriculum for the New York City schools, Chief Judge
Kaye and members of the Education Committee of the Association
of the Bar of the City of New York met with New York City Board
of Education Chancellor Rudolph F. Crew. Following that meeting,
a one-year pilot project was created that will bring law-related
education to 18 seventh-grade classes located in ten schools throughout
New York City. Coordinated by the Board of Education in partnership
with the City Bar, the pilot curriculum covers topics such as
the role of courts in government, mechanisms for dispute resolution
and constitutional law. It also includes presentations from volunteer
lawyers to reinforce class lessons. Thus far, teachers have expressed
great satisfaction with the pilot effort.

Franklin H. Williams Commission on Minorities

Since its formation in 1991, the Franklin H. Williams Commission
on Minorities has worked to ensure racial and ethnic fairness
in our State court system. Under the leadership of Judge Lewis
L. Douglass, the Commission serves both as a sounding board and
a voice for minorities in the courts, from judges and nonjudicial
employees to attorneys and litigants.

Presentations by the Commission on issues of ethnic and racial
fairness are now a regular part of the annual judicial training
session and training for new judges. In addition, the Commission
operates a Speakers' Bureau to educate high school students and
local community groups on minority issues relating to the courts.

In 1997, the Commission issued a five-year report on its activities
entitled "Equal Justice: A Work in Progress" A pioneer
among judicial commissions devoted to the issue of racial and
ethnic fairness, the Commission has served as a model for similar
task forces in approximately 20 other jurisdictions.

The New York Judicial Committee on Women in the Courts

The New York State Judicial Committee on Women in the Courts
was established in 1986 in response to a task force finding that
"gender bias against women litigants, attorneys and court
employees is a pervasive problem with grave consequences."
Its mission for the past twelve years has been to change conditions
that deny women equal justice, equal treatment and equal opportunity.

In the past year, the Committee, chaired by Judge Betty Weinberg
Ellerin, has continued its efforts to strengthen the network of
gender bias and gender fairness committees throughout the State.
Working under the aegis of Administrative Judges, these local
committees focus on projects tailored to local issues. The Committee
also paid special attention in 1997 to family law issues, which
have particular significance for so many women litigants. To this
end, the Committee successfully advocated for the establishment
of specialized matrimonial enforcement parts and has formed a
subcommittee to study procedures for the review and referral of
complaints the Committee receives regarding family law issues.

In 1997 the Committee also produced a second edition of its
booklet "Fair Speech: Gender Neutral Language in the Courts"
launched a newsletter and presented educational programs on domestic
violence issues for Town and Village Justices.

The Center for Court Innovation

A public/private partnership of the Unified Court System and
the Fund for the City of New York, the Center for Court Innovation
was created to improve public confidence in our courts by nurturing
and sustaining new experiments in the delivery of justice. These
experiments are designed to re-shape "the people's courthouses"-
those courts that citizens interact with on a daily basis, such
as the criminal courts, housing courts and family courts.

The Center has played a major role in some of our most successful
innovations to date: the Midtown Community Court, the Brooklyn
Drug Treatment Court and the Brooklyn Domestic Violence Court.
Most recently, the Center has assisted with the development of
the newly opened Manhattan Family Treatment Court. Upcoming projects
include the Red Hook Community Justice Center, which is slated
to open next year. By focusing on collaborations between courts
and their community-based partners, the Center is helping us build
innovative solutions from the ground up.

"Too often, the burden of processing massive caseloads
makes it impossible for judges to reflect on the complex systemic
problems that come before our courts. But issues like addiction,
domestic violence, child neglect and quality-of-life crimes -
to name a few - force us to question business as usual. What
the Center does is to take a page from the private sector, functioning
like a research and development unit for the courts. By investigating
emerging problems and formulating programs in response, the Center
unleashes the creative energies of people throughout the system."